"To prevent every danger which might arise to American freedom from continuing too long in office, it is earnestly recommended that we set an obligation on the holder of that office to go out after a certain period." -- Thomas Jefferson

Sunday, February 24, 2013

DeMint may be gone from Senate, but term limits bill isn't

When Sen. Jim DeMint of South Carolina announced his retirement from the Senate, term limits activists were worried. After all, it was DeMint's name on the Congressional term limits bill.

But on Jan. 22, Sen. David Vitter (R-LA) introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution which would limit the number of terms that a Congress member may serve to three in the House of Representatives and two in the Senate. That is, the same bill.

DeMint may not be done with term limits. He left the Senate to take the helm at the Heritage Foundation where he can be enormously influential in advancing the issue. With the Cato Institute firmly behind the reform, there may be another policy powerhouse on the term limits case.

Sen. David Vitter has reintroduced the Congressional term limits bill in the Senate and a House companion bill is expected imminently.

Term limits for members of Congress has been spotlighted in recent weeks as former Senator and Vice Presidential nominee Joe Lieberman announced that after reflection on his 24 years in office that he now supported term limits.

The Lieberman statement was followed by a polls conducted by the Gallup Organization released in January showing that the American people would vote for congressional term limits by a 75 – 21 margin.

To become part of the U.S. Constitution, the amendment requires a two-thirds vote in each house of Congress and ratification by three quarters or 38 out of 50 states. This will not happen without pressure from us. Please sign the online petition now.